Applying For Radiology Residency

Applying for radiology
residency
Roshon Amin, MD and Elizabeth Birkenfeld, MD
2017-2018 Chief Residents
My Experience
 Entered Medical school knowing I was going to do Ortho
 President of the Ortho Student Interest Group
 Ortho Research
 Ortho Mentor and LOR’s
 Well…Hated the rotation!
 First month of 4th year – now what??!?!
 Radiology elective to gather my thoughts

 “Radioholiday”
 The rest is history!
 Interviewed at over 35 programs!
General Information
 Diagnostic Radiology Programs
 Most are “advanced” programs (offer spots starting PGY-2 year)
 Must rank intern year separately
 Some are “categorical” – includes intern year
 Integrated IR/DR residency

 All fellowships will phase out by June 30, 2020
 6 year route/program
 1 (Prelim) + 3 (DR) + 2 (IR)
 Independent IR Residency
 Apply after DR residency
 Total of 2 years (total = 7 years)
 Early Specialization in Interventional Radiology (ESIR)

 Transfer into 2nd year of IR residency (total = 6 years)
 Must meet requirement of IR months, ICU months, and IR cases (500)
 All programs have their own system of applying
Preliminary Year
 Transitional Year:
 Most competitive (Derm, Rad-Onc, Optho, Anesthesiology)
 Flex schedules and electives
 Prelim Medicine:
 Very program dependent
 Most residents will do this
 Prelim Surgery
 May have a little benefit for IR
 Lot of scut work
 Less competitive, so if you have to be in a certain location, this is
probably your best chance
Away Rotations
 Do not need to do, but if you decide to do one, you must be
outstanding
 First in, last out
 Enthusiastic
 Prepare/Study
 Drawbacks – it is a month long interview, so a single slip up

may cost you an actual interview invite
Applying
 Personal Statement:
 Don’t need to cure cancer while rescuing kids from a burning orphanage in a
small Central American village!
 Average is OK!
 Sound Literate!
 Often times only read after interview invitation already sent.
 Can be helpful if you can tailor to a specific program (especially if you strongly
want/have to go there). Don’t stress if you don’t.
 Never Lie!
 LOR’s
 Most programs will allow you to submit 3.
 Play it safe and ask for 4
 Try to find people who will talk about your social, personal and professional
strengths
Applying
 Curriculum Vitae
 Update if you have new stuff to add; can take an updated copy to
your interview
 Social Media
 If there is any question, just deactivate it
 Aunt Minnie/SDN
 Read with caution or don’t read at all
Applying
 Apply to a variety of tiered programs (I, II, III)
 Goal to have 10-12 interviews
 Reach out to program directors if you haven’t received an

interview and you are very interested.
 Don’t be pushy
 If offered a radiology interview, but haven’t heard back from

the prelim program, reach out!
Interviews!
 Smartphone!!
 Respond to interview offers ASAP
 Ok to cancel interviews, but be respectful about it

 If you have a feeling that you are probably not that interested in a
program, schedule for later in the interview season
 Professional Attire
 Pre-Interview Dinner
 Not a must
 Great opportunity to gauge the residents and program
 Residents may report any “red flags” to the program
Equal Playing Field!
Evaluating a Program
Strong believer in “Gut Feeling”
 Right after you leave the interview either mentally or with pen
paper:
 Review the pros/cons of the program
 “Would I be happy as a resident here?”
 Place the program into a quartile on your rank list
 This will be very fluid the more places you interview at
Objective Evaluation
 Geography!
 Busy program (lots of cases) + lots of teaching

 Need to find the “sweet spot”
 Plenty of programs with lots/too many cases (resident
drowned in work), but no supplemental teaching
 Other programs with 5 conferences a day, but no films to
read!!
 Variety of cases
 Conferences
 Research
 Procedure Opportunities
Objective Evaluation
 Size of Program
 Small (2-3 residents)
 Large (12-15 residents)
 Residents overall demeanor

 Happy?
 Camaraderie?
 PD approachability
 Core Pass Rates
 Faculty/Resident Stability
Thank you notes
 Unless the PD tells you otherwise, always send a thank you
email.
 Try to email the secretaries and education office staff who

helped coordinate your day as well
 If you are trully going to rank a program #1 – definitely let

them know, it cannot hurt you
 Do not send multiple #1 emails – small community
Helpful Link
 https://www.aur.org/uploadedfiles/alliances/amser/educator_r
esources/amser_guide_to_applying_for_radiology_residency.
pdf
 Interview and match day process and advice
Questions?
 Roshon Amin, MD
 [email protected]
 Elizabeth Birkenfeld, MD
 [email protected]

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Applying for radiology

 Well…Hated the rotation!

 First month of 4th year – now what??!?!

 Radiology elective to gather my thoughts

 Integrated IR/DR residency

 Early Specialization in Interventional Radiology (ESIR)

 Drawbacks – it is a month long interview, so a single slip up

 Goal to have 10-12 interviews

 Reach out to program directors if you haven’t received an

 If offered a radiology interview, but haven’t heard back from

 Ok to cancel interviews, but be respectful about it

Strong believer in “Gut Feeling”

 Busy program (lots of cases) + lots of teaching

 Residents overall demeanor

 Core Pass Rates

 Try to email the secretaries and education office staff who

 If you are trully going to rank a program #1 – definitely let

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